Tasty Thursday #4 – Donuts

It’s been a rough week around here with freezing cold temperatures, massive sinus issues (Doreen) and major organization (aka spring cleaning with a twist). Since Mr. Farmer had Monday off from work for MLK day, I decided to make an extra treat this week full of goodies that I’m not really meant to have in my diet.

It’s rare that you will have me share recipes that include so much of these ingredients, but these are too good to not share!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp boiling water
1 tsp dry active yeast
2 cups all purpose flour (actually you will want slightly less and I recommend starting with about 1-1/2 cups then add a little until you get the right consistancy of “sandiness” when mixturing with butter)
3 tbsp of sugar
1 egg
1/4 stick of butter at room temperature

Oil enough to cover a few inches in the bottom of a deep pan or a deep fryer.

Directions:
In a large measuring cup, combine milk and boiling water. Add in one teaspoon of the sugar and yeast. Stir gently to combine and then leave in a warm place until the yeast mixture foams.
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until it looks like crumbles.
Add in the egg after a quick beat (I do this with my finger or fork right in the flour butter mixture prior to mixing it in) and add the yeast mixtures. Mix until dough is smooth. This could take a little time, so be patient.
Turn the dough onto a light floured counter and knead for 5-10 minutes. You will notice a springy texture and air bubbles forming in the dough when it is ready. Place it back in the bowl, allow to raise for about an hour or it’s double in size in a warm location. After it has doubled in size, you can either flatten the dough to cut into round donuts or just form balls for holes. Once you have the desired shapes, set them on a baking sheet, again in a warm location and cover with a towel. Let donuts raise while you are heating the oil to 375 degrees. Fry for approximately 2 minutes per side.

Glaze:
I use powdered sugar and a liquid (I will discuss the further in just a second) until it forms an running sauce for applying. There really is no need to measure this. Start by adding powdered sugar into a bowl, add a little bit of liquid and stir with a spoon. Keep adding a little liquid until the mixture is able to be poured from a spoon.

For the liquid to go into the glaze, you can add just about anything. To give your donuts a little pick me up kick, you can use orange juice or lemon juice. Want a little alcohol, you can add in a little tequila (works perfect with lime zest inside the donut and all you have to do is mix it in with the yeast) or even bourbon. You can even use melted butter for a creamier glaze.

So there you have the treat this week. Granted it’s not all that healthy but hey, it’s homemade! Hope you enjoy!